SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must cease allowing the use of compost containing pesticides in organic farming as of Aug. 22, according to a federal court ruling in Northern California.

SAN JOSE – A critic of the pharmaceutical
industry says liberal interpretation of U.S. patent laws has led to the wasteful infighting displayed recently between drug-makers Merck and Gilead in a case decided earlier this month by a Northern California federal judge.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court, on a 6-2 decision involving a case originally filed in California’s 9th Circuit Court, ordered the Department of Labor to clarify its regulation regarding an overtime pay exemption for people who work at auto dealerships as car salesmen or sales advisers.

SAN JOSE – A Maricopa County, Arizona woman has filed a class-action suit against a Palo Alto-based company and a pharmacy chain alleging it sold blood tests that were not 100 percent accurate as advertised.